Isaac Blesses Jacob by Govert Flinck. Source: Wikipedia Commons

Govert Flinck, a Mennonite artist, born 25 January 1615 at Cleve, Germany, died 4 February 1660, at Amsterdam. His parents wanted to educate him for the textile trade, but his employer discharged him because he was always drawing. The Mennonite preacher and painter Lambert Jacobsz at Leeuwarden convinced his parents that artists were not necessarily frivolous; they then permitted him to follow his bent. After his apprenticeship with Jacobsz he went to Amsterdam with Jacob Backer, and there became Rembrandt's pupil. He soon gained fame and wealth, and painted many portraits for mayors and princes. His chief work was in portraits, religious scenes, and genre paintings. In the museums of Munich, Dresden ("David Presenting the Letter to Uriah"), Berlin, and Paris, as well as The Hague, and Amsterdam ("Isaac Blesses Jacob"; "Amsterdam Sharpshooters Celebrating the Peace of Westphalia"; "Joost van den Vondel") his best-known works are found. He also painted the portrait of Gozen Centen, the property of the Amsterdam Mennonite Church, but loaned to the national museum at Amsterdam.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 340. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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